Borderlands unlocked

With the release of the Borderlands’ new downloadable content (DLC) to premier on Xbox Live Sept. 28, the new DLC is expected to have much more content, thereby opening up more areas than the previous three installments combined. While not having nearly as much content as promised in the new DLC, the others still have plenty to offer on their own account. This is a look at the past three DLC packs from Gearbox.

The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

This is the first of the four DLCs provided by by Gearbox. Like the original game, it too is heavy on humor and looting. The new DLC adds quest specific items, as well as a few new weapons. The main draw for many gamers on this DLC is the zombie killing fun and humor heavy story line. In DLC you meet Dr. Ned who is “totally not related to Dr. Zed,” who players of Borderlands have met earlier in the game. Dr. Ned was in charge of keeping the residents of Jacob’s Cove alive instead of turning them into zombies. Players get to face a slew of different zombified enemies and also battle the dreaded were-skags. Game play for Dr. Ned’s Island is pretty much the same as the normal Borderlands. Zombies do add a bit of a different dynamic to the over all game feel with some zombies that can sneak up on players exploding at their feet or others who toss explosive barrels from long distances.

Dr. Ned’s Island is a nice addition to the overall game play extending an already fun game further, allowing players to get a new look at the Pandora and the characters they have come to love so much.

Whim Rating 4.5/5

Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot

Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, the second DLC with a title stolen from a certain movie, follows a similar concept of a fight to the death. The main difference in the plot is Moxxi, a crazed woman who holds a tournament in search of her fourth husband. The actual game play is straightforward. You and friends can battle wave after wave of enemies as you try to gain Mad Moxxi’s affections. Many players complain that the new DLC really doesn’t add much in the way of weapons or any real game value. It is more or less the arena condensed into a more intense game play mode with added modes such as low gravity fighting, enemy health regeneration and more.

Over all, Moxxi’s Underdome is a nice addition for those players who want to have extended arena play, though the add-on doesn’t pack much for the price tag. Some patches did improve the drops, but no experience is gained in the underdome so any combat is more or less pointless.

Whim Rating: 3/5

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

The Secret Armory is the third installment of DLC content released by GearBox. It is also the largest of the already released content, easily eclipsing the earlier two. It sports new and exciting monsters, as well as an additional secret final boss for the game. The new content also comes with new weapons and more crazy, funny characters with their own Pandora flavor that just continues to build on the game’s already fun concepts.

Whim Rating 5/5

Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution.

This be GearBox’s last and best DLC for Borderlands. The helpful, but oh so annoying, claptrap robots of Pandora rise up in this yet to be released DLC. The GearBox developers had plenty of fun with this latest addition, creating past revolutionary posters in the style of various leaders throughout the past. Old enemies will return with some minor cybernetic enhancements. The polarizing Claptraps that players either loved or hated can now be killed. New massive expansive areas meant to be explored will be added. To top it all off, to celebrate the release, everyone system-wide will get an eight level increase on the character level cap. Those who got an increase with the General Knoxx DLC will have level 69 as their level cap and the rest will be level 58 as their max achievable level.